SHILLONG: In the northeast region, non-communicable diseases accounted for 58.8% of the total deaths, while death due to cancer is 9.5%, the highest in India according to WHO in its 2018 profile, said Dr A Dkhar, joint director, health services.
This was published in the report, “Monitoring Survey of Cancer Risk Factors and Health System Response in Meghalaya, 2021-2022,” which was virtually released on Friday. The event was convened by the staff of Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR), Meghalaya, Civil Hospital, Shillong, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, at the main secretariat building, here.
Dkhar also highlighted the fact that cancer is among the top five leading causes of death in Meghalaya.
Dr Prashant Mathur, director, NCDIR-ICMR, PBCR Colleagues’, who attended the function virtually, stressed on the need to declare cancer as a notifiable disease in Meghalaya to understand the actual burden of the disease and better collaboration between the government and Population Based Cancer Registry.
The key finding of the survey report highlighted that there is a high prevalence of tobacco consumption (smoked and smokeless) in Meghalaya and the current percentage of tobacco consumption stands at 52.5. The trend in the age of early initiation of tobacco is 19.2 years.
The report also highlighted the usage of betel products, which has been observed to cause oral submucous fibrosis, a pre-cancerous condition that can progress to oral cancer.
“Currently, the consumption of non-tobacco betel products among respondents was 72.7% of which areca nut consumption was the highest,” the report said, adding that the mean age of early initiation of alcohol use was 21 years and 10% of the respondents were engaged in heavy episodic drinking.
Principal secretary, health and family welfare department, and PBCR chairman, Meghalaya, Sampath Kumar emphasised the need to focus on taking preventive care measures for reducing the alarming non-communicable disease burden in Meghalaya, particularly cancer.
